Because She Could: The unputdownable debut novel that spans the globe (The Osprey Series Book 1)

by Kaylie Kay

  ‘Hello?’ Tom’s groggy greeting sounded equally confused. Silence. She could make out a voice but not what was being said, and Tom quickly moved into the en-suite. He probably presumed that she was asleep and didn’t want to wake her. Moments later he was putting on the clothes that he had just hours before deposited on the bedroom floor.

  ‘What’s up?’ Olivia sat up and switched on her bedside lamp.

  ‘Oh, sorry I woke you. It’s nothing. Go back to sleep, babe.’ His pale face told her that it wasn’t just nothing.

  ‘Where are you going? It’s two o’clock in the morning.’ She confirmed it, looking at the time on her alarm clock.

  ‘Oh just work, babe, I’ll explain later, gotta go.’ He kissed her and rushed out of the door before she could ask him any more questions. She racked her brains trying to think of what could possibly have happened in Tom’s line of work that would call him out at this time. He wasn’t an emergency service, surely whatever it was could have waited until the morning? Oh well, she thought, as she lay back down and switched the light out, she wasn’t going to get any sort of explanation now so she would just have to go back to sleep, and she liked sleeping.

  Olivia woke up in a cold sweat. The dream was so vivid. Tom was in serious trouble, trapped in a hospital room with a crazy doctor, strapped to the bed, screaming in terror. She couldn’t get the door open, didn’t know the code, and was watching helplessly through the glass window as he came towards Tom with a huge knife. Where the hell did that come from? She felt the clamminess of her chest and exhaled in relief that it was just a dream, albeit a bad one.

  Instinctively she reached for her phone and called Tom’s number. It diverted to the office but no one answered and the voicemail kicked in. She hung up and looked at the time, midday, surely someone, namely Sarah, should be there by now?

  Call me, she texted him, hoping he would pick it up soon and call her back. The dream had left her worried; she couldn’t help feeling he was in trouble, not that she had ever thought her dreams had meaning before, but perhaps this one was just bringing her real worries to life.

  ‘Sorry babe, you wouldn’t believe the day I have had.’ Tom walked in the door, a little after seven. Olivia had been beside herself with worry and was ready to scream at him for his selfishness, until she saw the huge bouquet of flowers that he was carrying. He handed them to her with the sweetest look on his face and she couldn’t be angry with him anymore.

  ‘I’ve been so worried. Why didn’t you return my calls?’

  ‘I’m so sorry, I had to turn my phone off in a meeting and I forgot to turn it back on again.’

  ‘And what was the emergency?’

  ‘Oh, it was just some tiles fell off the roof at the school site, had to fix it up quick before the kids got there for school this morning.’ He looked down at the floor, taking his shoes off with his spare hand. Olivia reached out and took the flowers off of him, admiring their beauty.

  ‘At two o’clock? Who was there at that time?’ She couldn’t grasp it, didn’t quite buy it.

  ‘They have security guards that do patrols through the night, they must’ve phoned the caretaker and he called me. Anyway, what’s with all the questions? I’ve had a long day and I was just looking forward to spending the evening with my beautiful girl.’

  She gave in. He was right. Why was she asking so many questions? Why didn’t she just take his word for it? She studied his face; there was something different. He looked tired, yes, but he looked lighter, like that dark cloud that had been following him around for weeks had finally moved away.

  As they lay in bed wrapped in each other’s arms Olivia couldn’t help thinking over the day. ‘I tried to call you but there was no one in the office. Was Sarah not in today?’

  She thought she detected his body stiffen slightly.

  ‘No, she was sick. She won’t be working for me anymore.’

  In her mind Olivia heard the celebration, corks popping, people cheering, music playing. It was all she could do to stop herself jumping out of bed and dancing around the room.

  ‘Oh really? Why?’ She tried to hide the excitement in her voice, glad that he couldn’t see her face.

  ‘Oh, it’s not been working out for a while so I had to let her go. Keira is going to come back a bit early though so it’s all good.’ She thought that she heard in his voice that he was pleased that Sarah was gone too.

  Chapter 49

  ‘Olivia, will you marry me?’

  Olivia felt light-headed, worrying for a moment that she might faint. Tom was down on one knee holding an open box with the most beautiful ring she had ever seen in it. The diamonds sparkled, reflecting the sunlight that streamed through the window of the restaurant that he had taken her to in Brighton. No matter how many times she had pictured this moment, she could never have anticipated the emotions she would feel, tears flowing as she nodded her head, unable to speak. Tom stood up to the cheers of the other diners, bowing in embarrassment, hating the attention, but he was a traditional man at heart and had to do things the right way.

  Olivia stood and threw her arms around his neck. She didn’t care that everyone was watching them, she was the happiest girl in the world right now and she wanted them all to see it. She cupped Tom’s beautiful face in her hands and kissed him, locking this moment in her memory forever.

  When Tom left the table later to use the restroom Olivia couldn’t stop herself taking a photo of her new gift, posting it straight to her timeline for everyone to see; she knew that they would all be so happy for her. She quickly texted her nearest family so that they could feel like they were the first to know. She suspected her Mum might be hurt if she heard it through someone else. The messages of congratulations were already flowing in by the time Tom returned, she even had one from Sarah, and she was glad that there were no bad feelings. She didn’t show Tom though, not knowing really what had happened there, and not wanted to tarnish this moment.

  They finished their perfect afternoon with a walk along the pebbled beach, wind blowing Olivia’s hair furiously around her face. Tom held her hand tightly and listened as she babbled about how she would like the wedding; she had so much to organise. She kept looking at him, checking that he was not looking panicked. She didn’t want him stressed again. It had only been a week since they had got back from New York, but he seemed more than happy to listen to her excited rambling.

  She was still excited as they drove home, calling her mum, her sister, Claire, she needed them to be in this with her.

  ‘I can’t believe I am finally going to be your wife,’ she said softly, looking at Tom as they drove into their road. ‘I can’t wait.’ She had finally calmed down and now all she felt was pure unadulterated happiness.

  Tom glance back at her and smiled. ‘Neither can I.’

  He indicated to turn into their house, clicking the control to open the gates.

  ‘What’s that?’ Olivia leaned forward in her seat trying to make out what the object was that appeared to be hanging from the handle on the gate as it opened.

  Tom looked too, and as they pulled up alongside it Olivia saw that it was a child’s doll, a baby doll.

  ‘Weird,’ she said, trying to work out what it could be doing there. ‘Are you ok? Tom?’ Tom looked like he had seen a ghost; all the colour had drained from his skin and he was staring at the doll.

  ‘Yeah, yeah.’ He shook his head vigorously. ‘Sorry, I um, just felt a bit funny that’s all. Yeah, you’re right, that is weird.’

  ‘Oh, I know,’ Olivia smiled, pleased with herself for her deduction, ‘some kid has obviously dropped it and the next person who had passed has put it there because it will be obvious if they come back looking for it.’ She looked at Tom. He was nodding and the colour was returning to his face.

  ‘Yes, that must be it. Freaky-looking thing though. If it’s not gone tomorrow it’s gonna have to go in the bin, I can’t face that every time I come home.’

  They both laughed, driving o
n through and closing the gates behind them with the doll still attached. If they had looked back as the gates shut they would have seen Sarah step out from the shadows of the trees opposite.

  Sarah looked across the road at the doll, still hanging on the gate. She hoped that Tom knew it was her, that it hurt him. Their baby was gone, lost, but surely she needed more support than she had got.

  Yes, Tom had come to the hospital when she called that night, and she could see he was affected by it too, as far as he knew it was his child she was losing. It should have made him care for her, want to look after her, but no, he had waited until she woke up from her procedure and told her that it was over. He had been torn apart, not knowing what to do when she was pregnant, but now that she wasn’t anymore it would be easier for them just to stop seeing each other completely. He would pay her for another month, like she should be grateful, she seethed. She had no job, no boyfriend, and no baby.

  She hated him, and she hated Olivia, posting those dumb photos of her ring, lapping up the congratulations, living in her perfect house with her perfect boyfriend. Well she had no idea, and there was no way Sarah was going to let them just carry on with their perfect lives while she was left with nothing.

  She felt the rage boiling inside her, her lips pursed and she breathed heavily. He had no idea what he had done. No one gets away with treating Sarah Fischer like that.

  Chapter 50

  ‘Right, doing it now, requesting Hong Kong 11th January.’ Olivia tapped the details into the bid page.

  ‘Can’t flippin’ wait.’

  ‘Try not to fall down any stairs between now and then,’ said her friend dryly.

  ‘I will wrap myself in bubble wrap, I promise,’ she laughed. It was only early November so she was going to have to take great care for the next couple of months! ‘Are Ali and Nicola requesting it too?’

  ‘Of course,’ replied Claire, ‘and Julie Margot wants to come with us.’

  ‘Really? How’d that happen?’ Olivia asked in amusement.

  ‘I bumped into her at check-in on my last flight and she was asking after all of you. I just mentioned we might all do a Hong Kong together and the next minute she’s coming with us! You don’t mind, do you?’

  ‘Of course not, at least we know we’ll get decent breaks.’

  ‘And she’ll definitely be up for coming out, could be amusing.’ The girls giggled and the subject quickly changed back to the impending wedding. Nothing had even been booked yet, but it was sure to be the main topic of conversation between now and whenever the date would be.

  At least an hour passed before Olivia suddenly realised what the time was. ‘Gotta go, babe, gym class booked in half hour.’

  ‘No worries, speak soon, love you,’ replied Claire as she put down the phone on the other end.

  Olivia just made it, running into the class with a minute to spare. She quickly set up her step and bar at the back of the room, relieved that there was any space for her as this class was always full.

  ‘Right, anyone here never done my class before?’ asked David the instructor with an inane grin, looking around the room. They all looked at each other; it was always the same faces, and they knew what was coming next. An arm reached up in the far left, second row back. David looked over at the new victim with a menacing smile. ‘Well this is extreme legs, bums, and tums,’ he told her. Olivia felt sorry for the new girl, she remembered how hard she had found these classes when she first started.

  As the music blared and Olivia pushed herself through the punishing routines she glanced occasionally over to her, watching to see how she was faring. She admired her determination, only seeing her stop to retie her blonde ponytail; she was obviously quite fit.

  Forty minutes later, as they lay on their mats in sweaty messes, Olivia looked up as one of the girls from the front row tiptoed quietly out of the room.

  ‘Right, cobra positions, ladies,’ directed David.

  As Olivia lifted her head up she studied the faces in the mirror that stretched along the front of the hall. Now that the person from the front had moved she could see the new girl’s face for the first time, and she almost lost her balance as she realised who it was. What on earth was she doing here? And surely it was a bit of a tough class to do in her condition?

  ‘Thank you, ladies, see you next week.’ David’s words took a moment to register through the sound of her heart pumping in her ears. Olivia rushed to get the weights off of her bar, wanting to get them away and get out of there before she had to face her. She hoped that Sarah hadn’t seen her but as she stood impatiently waiting to hang her mat up she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and she knew that she was right behind her.

  ‘Hi Olivia.’ Olivia had hoped that she would never have to hear that voice again. She wanted to ignore her, just walk away, but she couldn’t, her conscience wouldn’t let her. Despite everything, despite her dislike for the girl, she hadn’t actually done anything really wrong to her, and she felt a pang of compassion, wondering if she was ok now that Tom had let her go. She turned slowly.

  ‘Oh!’ she feigned surprise. ‘Sarah, fancy seeing you here, I didn’t know that you came to this gym.’ She tried to smile, but knew it wasn’t sincere.

  ‘I just started, thought it must be good if you came here.’

  Olivia tried to quickly process what Sarah was saying. Was she saying she came here because she knew Olivia did? Surely not. She felt uncomfortable, grateful as she reached the stand and hung her mat.

  ‘Wasn’t it a bit hard in your condition?’ Olivia said quietly, looking down at Sarah’s incredibly flat stomach.

  ‘Oh, no, I lost the baby, and things didn’t work out with the dad.’ Sarah rubbed her tummy, looking away momentarily.

  ‘Oh, sorry to hear that.’ And she was, but she fought her urge to ask more. ‘Sorry Sarah, I really have to go.’ She didn’t want to get into conversation, even though she did want to know more. She wondered how Sarah knew she came here, trying to remember if she had ever mentioned it to her. She wanted to know what had happened at the office, and how she was getting on now, but for once Olivia restrained herself from asking, not sure she really wanted to know the answers.

  ‘Oh, that’s a shame, I was hoping we could grab a coffee and catch up.’ Sarah smiled sweetly at her. Olivia kept walking towards the exit, but Sarah stayed firmly by her side. ‘Please let me buy you a drink, I could really do with talking to you, Olivia.’

  Chapter 51

  This was a bad idea, Olivia told herself, sitting at the table waiting for Sarah to bring over the drinks, wondering how on earth she had been talked into it, why she couldn’t have just said no. The coffee shop was quiet, people sat in their wooden chairs, scrolling through their phones as they sipped their drinks, or chatting quietly between themselves. An old man sat with his dog in the window, and Olivia wondered if he was lonely, if he had anyone waiting at home for him, any family to visit. She watched Sarah at the tills, and felt her guard drop as she wondered the same about her.

  ‘One skinny latte.’ Sarah put Olivia’s drink down in front of her, and sat down in the chair opposite, opening her bottle of water. ‘Thanks for coming, Olivia.’

  ‘That’s ok, I don’t have long though, a lot to do today.’ She sipped her latte, grateful that it wasn’t too hot and wouldn’t take too long to drink.

  ‘Congratulations on the engagement, you must be stoked.’

  Olivia rubbed her engagement ring and smiled. ‘Yes, I am, thanks.’ She knew Sarah wanted her to ask her how she was, but she just couldn’t.

  ‘Tell Tom I am really happy for you both.’

  ‘I will, thank you.’ Olivia took another large sip.

  ‘And can you tell him I’ve got a new job, so he doesn’t have to worry. I know he felt bad about the way things finished.’

  How? thought Olivia. How did they finish? She looked at Sarah, wondering if she could read her face, if she knew that Olivia didn’t really know what had happened, hopin
g she would give her something, but still unable to ask. She waited but nothing came, just silence.

  ‘Well that’s good news.’ Olivia was the first to speak. ‘Anything good?’ She didn’t see that this question could hurt.

  ‘Yes, actually, I’m going to be the PA for Ted Coulter.’ She must have seen Olivia’s blank expression. ‘At the council, the one who deals with Tom’s contract.’

  Olivia gulped her drink down, looking at her watch but not seeing the time. ‘Well that’s good news Sarah, I am sure you’ll love it there.’ So not only was she now at her gym, but she was still involved with Tom too. Why couldn’t she just disappear? ‘I really do have to go now, I have an appointment,’ she lied.

  ‘Oh, ok.’ Sarah looked sad. ‘It’s been really lovely to talk to you, Olivia, I don’t get to talk to girlfriends very often.’ Olivia watched as she hung her head, hand on her stomach, and wondered what she had been through. She couldn’t imagine how Sarah had gone through losing a baby and breaking up with the father without a girlfriend to talk to.

  ‘Don’t you have any friends you can talk to, Sarah?’ She felt sorry for her.